Oriental Adventures d20(3.5)

[AzazelSephiroth]

Hey everyone,
My friend has agreed recently to DM for my group of players (thus allowing me to play for the first time in a year) and he wants to run a Rokugan campaign. We have the Campaign setting and many other books but I was wondering if there were any internet resources or premade adventures he could use. He is very excited to Dm but a little new and is worried about time and wanted some strong tools.:smallwink:

[The Rose Dragon]

Did you consider getting L5R material? It probably has some pre-made adventures. 3rd Edition support for Oriental Adventures is very low, IIRC.

[AzazelSephiroth]

I did consider checking out L5R but I am not sure how to convert stats and such... maybe I can find a converter online... off to check:smallsmile: Thanks

[Umael]

A couple of things here:

First of all, do you have just Oriental Adventures, or Rokugan? These are different books and Rokugan is by far superior (unless you want to run an Oriental-flavored game that isn't Rokugan). For one thing, the Rokugan book has a section on translating your L5R character to d20 and vice versa.

Second, there are actually a LOT of books out there to help run Rokugan d20. Check out the Secrets of the... series (Secrets of the Crane, Secrets of the Unicorn, etc.). These were produced back when WotC bought AEG (AEG has since gone their own way again, having bought themselves out from under WotC), and so there are mechanics in there for BOTH the L5R d10 system AND the d20 system. Very, very, very useful for anyone who wants to play.

Third, keep in mind that if you are going to play in Rokugan you are not, as they say, playing D&D with funny hats. For starters, unless you really know what you are doing (or you just want to mix it up and have fun), everyone is going to be playing a human. Instead of getting a choice of races, however, you get a choice of Clans, and that seriously impacts how your character develops (a Crab bushi is a far, far cry from a Crane bushi). If you want, you can try to play with some of the other races (Kitsune, Nezumi, Naga), but it is really a good idea for beginning players to stick with just being human (or, failing that, at least know what happens when you have a Nezumi in the same group as a Naga).

Also, a lot of the classes are right out* (cleric, wizard, druid, bard, sorceror, paladin) - and that's just from the PHB! Don't even think about including any of the Complete series (especially not the Complete Samurai - ugh, no! Look at the samurai class in Rokugan - a far better class). Keep in mind that in Rokugan, the bushi run the show - Rokugan is an empire built on warriors, not magic-users, and just about all magic you encounter is divine and only confined to one class - the shugenja.

* - Again, see above about races. Yes, you can play a Kitsune druid, for example, but that should be really rare, and for good reason.

Just a suggestion - have at least one courtier and one shugenja in the group, but no more (use NPCs if necessary). The rest should be bushi, monk, ninja, or something else appropriate. Yes, you can do a strongly courtier game (if your group loves intrigue), a strongly shugenja game (Phoenix-Clan based, maybe), or just do away with courtiers and/or shugenja as per the group's desire (maybe put them on the Kaui Wall?), but think of the courtier and the shugenja as specialists - useful in their arenas, but a bit on the rare side.

(For the record, Rokugan is not the most "nerfed" magic setting for d20. Iron Heroes has that distinction, hands-down.)

A bit more advice - Rokugan is fundamentally a different place than "regular" D&D. "Regular" D&D is strongly, strongly a game about good versus evil where it is rare (though not unheard of) for a party to consist of someone who is openly good and someone who is openly evil. Evil parties exist and people who are secretly evil within a good party exist, but openly with both sides of that alignment axis? Not so much. In Rokugan, the conflict between law and chaos is much more important. Lawful Evil and Lawful Good samurai can and do work quite well together (although they might distrust one another), but Chaotic Anything is a problem. Just like D&D where the default alignment for the party is Good, the default alignment for a group in Rokugan is Lawful.

One last bit - if you get your hands on any of the Legend of Five Rings stuff, a lot of it makes for good background and fills in the blanks, but what's missing is the style, particularly of the combat. In the L5R system, getting hit with a katana is lethal. Most bushi survive getting hit once, maybe twice. A lot of L5R is based around intrigue, role-playing, and a bit of mystery - combat is reserved for making things nasty and deadly, quickly. If you want to incorporate that, don't be afraid of using optional critical hit tables or maybe restricting the game to low levels. Just make sure your players are okay with this.

Any other questions, feel free to ask.

[elliott20]

One last bit - if you get your hands on any of the Legend of Five Rings stuff, a lot of it makes for good background and fills in the blanks, but what's missing is the style, particularly of the combat. In the L5R system, getting hit with a katana is lethal. Most bushi survive getting hit once, maybe twice. A lot of L5R is based around intrigue, role-playing, and a bit of mystery - combat is reserved for making things nasty and deadly, quickly. If you want to incorporate that, don't be afraid of using optional critical hit tables or maybe restricting the game to low levels. Just make sure your players are okay with this.

this is generally how most samurai-type games try to be.

this is going to be very hard to do with d20 easily. It basically lends itself to allowing characters to survive ridiculous kinds of trauma.

I would also recommend you either incorporate the grim n' gritty rules too, if you want to do this. Although if you do you will have to restrict magic access quite a bit.

[Kaiyanwang]

Did you consider getting L5R material? It probably has some pre-made adventures. 3rd Edition support for Oriental Adventures is very low, IIRC.

There are few things: the Masharpa Web Enhancement and, indirectly, Secrets of Sarlona for eberron (exspecially for oriental-oriented equipment) but both does not fit with rokugan.

EDIT: Take a look on the MAsharpa WE anyway. It introduces the vaati. Vaati it's another name for Wind Dukes of Aaqa.

If you don't know Wind Dukes, SHAME ON YOU! :smallwink:

[TheThan]

Umael's advice is very good.

listen to the wise master AzazelSephirothson!


Aside from that, if your looking for “dnd with funny hats” its doable. Only beware some of the classes are just modified PHB classes (I'm looking at you Shugenja.)

[The Rose Dragon]

I did consider checking out L5R but I am not sure how to convert stats and such... maybe I can find a converter online... off to check:smallsmile: Thanks

When I said "consider getting L5R material", I meant you should be playing L5R rather than D&D.

[Umael]

When I said "consider getting L5R material", I meant you should be playing L5R rather than D&D.

As much as I love the L5R system, I think your quote should read: "you should consider playing L5R rather than D&D."

While it is extremely useful to play L5R, sometimes playing d20 Rokugan works better as an introduction to what Rokugan is like. Besides, the OP's players might be a lot more comfortable with d20 and L5R's "roll-and-keep" system might seem a little bizarre at first. Their time might be better spent figuring out the culture of Rokugan and how to play without coming across as complete gaijin.

[Deth Muncher]

Also, a lot of the classes are right out* (cleric, wizard, druid, bard, sorceror, paladin) - and that's just from the PHB! Don't even think about including any of the Complete series (especially not the Complete Samurai - ugh, no! Look at the samurai class in Rokugan - a far better class). Keep in mind that in Rokugan, the bushi run the show - Rokugan is an empire built on warriors, not magic-users, and just about all magic you encounter is divine and only confined to one class - the shugenja.


I contest this, given that OA has the Sorceror class in its "Allowed Classes" chapter. And quite honestly, the other classes are rather unnecesary, because everyon (other than Bard) gets a redo into a cooler class anyway. Druid and Cleric become the Shaman, Sohei is merely a Paladin with Rage, Wizard...well. The Wizard and Sorceror are kind of whirled together and re-separated as Wu-Jen and Sorceror. In OA, Sorcerors aren't supposed to cast elemental spells, and Wu-Jen cast nothing but.

Also, it's worth mentioning two other things: The Samurai and The Shapeshifter. OA Samurai is far superior to CWar Samurai, ask anyone. And The Shapeshifter gets you back your Wild Shape, but in a much more contained manner.

[AzazelSephiroth]

Interesting Suggestions. Thanks Everyone. I actually have found the secrets of series and it looks most useful. I am well aware of the differences in style and worlds as well but thank you for the tips. I have the Rokugan campaign setting and my friend and I had a long talk about the world before he decided to DM it. I think he was a bit unprepared for the slight lack of other races but he is adjusting :smalltongue:
I was most specifically looking for any adventure modules or perhaps d20 sources for the shadowlands. Does anyone know if these exist?
Anyway Thanks To Everyone for the help! I shall continue my search for greater Oriental Knowledge.

[Yora]

There are few things: the Masharpa Web Enhancement
you probably mispelled it. I googled it and got only two results, one of them is this thread.

Edit: Okay, found it. It's spelled Mahasarpa (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20011019a).
I did a paper on hindu mythology the other week. This stuff is just awsome fantasy meterial. If someone would introduce it to western audiences, I think we would totaly love it. ^^

[Kaiyanwang]

you probably mispelled it. I googled it and got only two results, one of them is this thread.

Edit: Okay, found it. It's spelled Mahasarpa (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20011019a).
I did a paper on hindu mythology the other week. This stuff is just awsome fantasy meterial. If someone would introduce it to western audiences, I think we would totaly love it. ^^

Sorry for the mistake. Now I remember, I used Masharpa for the name an indian flavoured village in my currrent campaign.

And anyway, yes, happens to me very often to mispell :smallredface:

[TheThan]

Honestly I though the shaman class from OA was a little lame. It’s basically just a cleric with unarmed strike and an animal companion. I really liked the spirit shaman from complete divine though, you can do really cool things like tweak the spirit guide list to include Chinese zodiac animals instead of the normal list, or you could use the Rokugan great clan animals (lion, scorpion, crane, crab etc) instead. Just a simple change like that completely alters the way the class feels.

I was also disappointed with the 3.5 Shugenja and Wu Jen, well mainly with the spell lists. Both classes are based around five elements. Yet most of their spells don’t even have the proper descriptor. So I went through and completely re-wrote their spell lists to reflect the fluff they are given. It took heavy use of the spell compendium and a few other sources but it looks great.

[talus21]

I was thinking of adding some of this content. As a seperate kindgom in world. Any tips for trimming it down abit with out loosing the flavor. The rest of the world would be fairly standard D&D.

[Kaiyanwang]

I was thinking of adding some of this content. As a seperate kindgom in world. Any tips for trimming it down abit with out loosing the flavor. The rest of the world would be fairly standard D&D.

I did this way. There are places of blending for whom I use Unapproachable East and other sourcebooks.

[Umael]

I contest this, given that OA has the Sorceror class in its "Allowed Classes" chapter.

Okay, you half-got me.

Oriental Adventures has Sorceror as one of the "allowed classes", but in the actual Rokugan setting, you have only one of three choices.

1) Nezumi. That's right, be one of the rat-people. All of civilized Rokugan... well, they disdain you. Your best bet is sticking close to the Crab Clan.

2) Maho-tsukai. Bloodspeaker (well, okay, not all maho-tsukai are bloodspeakers, but all bloodspeakers are maho-tsukai - not that your average Rokugani knows that). Definitely evil, evil stuff. More importantly, chaotic evil stuff. Very much frowned on.

3) Gaijin. Ummm... not recommended. Really, really, really not recommended. As in, whom-does-the-average-Rokugani-kill-first, gaijin or maho-tsukai, not recommended.

So, no, not "right out", but pretty darn close if you are going to play close to the setting as portrayed.



Also, it's worth mentioning two other things: The Samurai and The Shapeshifter. OA Samurai is far superior to CWar Samurai, ask anyone.

Check out the Rokugan setting book's Samurai. Even better (slightly) than the OA Samurai.

By the by - Sohei? Wu Jen? Shaman? According to the Rokugan book, those aren't actually used. As I see it, Oriental Adventures was produced so that people could play in a D&D game with an Oriental flavor to it, but the at-the-time canon Oriental setting, Rokugan, doesn't actually use a bunch of those options. That's why I highly recommend the Rokugan book over Oriental Adventures if you want to set your game in Rokugan itself.

A few other things to mention:

Getting used to the lack of races - true. You usually play humans, but they are made distinct by being members of a Clan (usually). Takes some getting used to, yes, but there is still plenty of variety. And, if you want to go bizarre-o, play a game that has races as well. There aren't elves in canon Rokugan, but that doesn't mean you can't play with them. Just figure out how people would react to them. Gaijin? Spirit people? Successfully integrated?

Adventure Modules - there are adventure hooks in the Secrets series, but mostly the modules themselves are from L5R direct material - which you can adapt. If you have a taste for intrigue, see about getting City of Lies. If you have a taste for something more like Tomb of Horrors, get Tomb of Iuchiban.

Adding Rokugan to your existing campaign world - keep in mind that Rokugan as-imagined is xenophobic, and allowed to be xenophobic because it has mountains to the west and north, an ocean to the east, and Shadowlands to the south. The attitude is much like ancient China or Japan - happy to be cut off from the rest of the world, and anyway, they're superior to your gaijins anyway.

...then pick up Legend of the Burning Sands and see how out-of-touch they are...

[The Rose Dragon]

As much as I love the L5R system, I think your quote should read: "you should consider playing L5R rather than D&D."

No, I meant what I said. While I haven't played L5R myself, all things I've heard about it point to it being a much better system than D&D (which is hardly surprising, since most systems are better than D&D).

[Umael]

No, I meant what I said. While I haven't played L5R myself, all things I've heard about it point to it being a much better system than D&D (which is hardly surprising, since most systems are better than D&D).

And while I agree with you that L5R is a better system than D&D, I find that attitude to be a bit arrogant. You are saying that, without knowing the OP's gaming style or the other players in the group, that they should be playing the game system you recommend.

To paraphrase - I believe that the L5R is better, but not necessarily better for the OP.

[The Rose Dragon]

And while I agree with you that L5R is a better system than D&D, I find that attitude to be a bit arrogant. You are saying that, without knowing the OP's gaming style or the other players in the group, that they should be playing the game system you recommend.

To paraphrase - I believe that the L5R is better, but not necessarily better for the OP.

Well, if it gets them to stop playing D&D... :smalltongue:

In my opinion, there is only one thing D&D does that another system doesn't do better, and that's encouraging Monty Haul attitude. Unless their gaming style defaults on simply getting more and more shiny stuff, why not play a game that's better suited to the rest of their desires?

((OK, there is one reason I can think of: a lack of monetary resources. But barring that, I stand by my claim.))

[Yora]

Because it works. Maybe there's something out there that might work a little bit better, but unless you think the game you play isn't fun, most people wont want to try out something else.
You have the books, you know the rules... Why trying something else, if you think everything is fine.

[Deth Muncher]

By the by - Sohei? Wu Jen? Shaman? According to the Rokugan book, those aren't actually used. As I see it, Oriental Adventures was produced so that people could play in a D&D game with an Oriental flavor to it, but the at-the-time canon Oriental setting, Rokugan, doesn't actually use a bunch of those options. That's why I highly recommend the Rokugan book over Oriental Adventures if you want to set your game in Rokugan itself.


And you return by getting me, so it appears we are even. :smalltongue: I forgot, in the Oriental Adventures book, it explicitly states that certain classes in the book are only available in Oriental adventures, and not in Rokugan itself.

[TheThan]

And you return by getting me, so it appears we are even. :smalltongue: I forgot, in the Oriental Adventures book, it explicitly states that certain classes in the book are only available in Oriental adventures, and not in Rokugan itself.

was going to mention that myself. looks like someone beat me to it.

[Animefunkmaster]

There is also d20 l5r books, a lot of them actually. The problem is that l5r should be considered a sub campaign for oriental adventures, in that some things OA says is not necessarily true in the l5r world. And realistically every class can be in the l5r world, they are just Gaijen and made a ridiculous trek through the burning sands or tried to come across the sea.

[Geddoe]

Check out the Rokugan setting book's Samurai. Even better (slightly) than the OA Samurai.

How is it better? It is the exact same class only with exp instead of gold for ancestral daisho(because samurai in Rokugan specifically don't care about gold). The feats are easily added to the OA version with no fuss.

Anyway, if I want to play OA campaign, ToB would be far more valuable to me than any of the Rokugan supplements. I'd rather play "D&D with funny hats" than in the ridiculousness of the Rokugan setting.

I do kind of wonder what an appropriate change to the samurai would be to get maneuver progression though.

I was thinking just adding 3/4 warblade(rounded down of course) maneuver progression with full initiator level/hd progression, since the Samurai doesn't really get much aside from a really nice skill list.

[Umael]

How is it better? It is the exact same class only with exp instead of gold for ancestral daisho(because samurai in Rokugan specifically don't care about gold). The feats are easily added to the OA version with no fuss.

*gives Geddoe a long look*

I did say that the Rokugan class was slightly better, but I guess that comes down to a bit of personal preference. The very fact that it requires experience instead of gold seems more in line with how the Rokugan setting operates (which is to say, as you pointed out yourself, that the samurai don't care about gold).



Anyway, if I want to play OA campaign, ToB would be far more valuable to me than any of the Rokugan supplements. I'd rather play "D&D with funny hats" than in the ridiculousness of the Rokugan setting.

As you wish.

Although, personally, I would not want to run or be in a d20 Rokugan game that used ToB, or indeed, just about any of the splat books. I certainly know that I would not want to be playing with someone who called the Rokugan setting "ridiculous", especially someone who has never played an Oriental Adventure game, much less a Rokugan game.

Incidentally, have you ever looked at the L5R RPG material itself?

[Geddoe]

I have, it seems like a good system for playing Lo5R(which is, I suppose the point).

Though to be fair, I did misread the op, and thought it was a more generic OA setting, rather than Rokugan itself. Hence the ToB comment, though if Jaerom Darkwind ever finishes his Legend of the 5 Rings ToB conversion, it could work instead of the bonus feats.


I myself am actually going to be running my first OA campaign this Sunday, with main setting being mostly China, though other areas have embassies/trading companies in the large cities, so most character options are open(including the d20 Rokugan AEG stuff, though mostly the mechanics with it pasted to my setting's fluff).

As to, my ridiculous comment, Rokugan has:

Over the top honor concerns(to the point that in one post I read on the aeg site, they discussed the dishonor of using leather for saddles or minor ties in armor).
All their daimyo(particularly clan daimyo) seem able and willing to lead the army from the front. Seriously, it is like Dynasty Warriors or something, except when their is a sudden need for drama in which case anybody can die.

And as said in another topic:


But there is something that does peeve me - when the DM makes the players feel like they're only the side characters, not the protagonists. I've always believed that players are supposed to be the focus of the story, and the rest of the world runs mostly on the background.Heh - L5R actually says flat-out that that's the correct way to play the game. You AREN'T the big movers and shakers, and in all likelihood never will be. Shut up, be a good mindless samurai, and do what your daimyo tells you. You should see what it's like on their forums - if a PC gets "uppity" the "correct" answer for the GM is to have the PC removed from the game (whether via killed in his sleep, transfer to a new duty station [read: fiat] where you can't participate any more, daimyo tells you up front to "seppuku 'cause I don't like you", or whatever).

[Kaiyanwang]

Anyway, if I want to play OA campaign, ToB would be far more valuable to me than any of the Rokugan supplements. I'd rather play "D&D with funny hats" than in the ridiculousness of the Rokugan setting.

I do kind of wonder what an appropriate change to the samurai would be to get maneuver progression though.

I was thinking just adding 3/4 warblade(rounded down of course) maneuver progression with full initiator level/hd progression, since the Samurai doesn't really get much aside from a really nice skill list.

I fear you didn't understood the feel of the book. Read it with attention.

I see that ToB is cool and really fits i a lot of campaing, but consider it mandatory seems too odd for me.

And anyway oriental =/= anime and oriental =/= soul calibur.

[Geddoe]

I fear you didn't understood the feel of the book. Read it with attention.

I see that ToB is cool and really fits i a lot of campaing, but consider it mandatory seems too odd for me.

And anyway oriental =/= anime and oriental =/= soul calibur.

Strangely enough ToB =/= anime or Soul Calibur either. It does however work nicely for Wuxia, which is more the flavor I am going for.

[The Rose Dragon]

Strangely enough ToB =/= anime or Soul Calibur either. It does however work nicely for Wuxia, which is more the flavor I am going for.

Yes, but Rokugan is far from wuxia, considering wuxia is traditionally Chinese and Rokugan is based on Feudal Japan.

Apologies in advance if I misunderstood you.

[Kaiyanwang]

Strangely enough ToB =/= anime or Soul Calibur either. It does however work nicely for Wuxia, which is more the flavor I am going for.

Consider this: I think that the book has elements from these things, especially Soul Calibur. Nothing wrong: I love soul calibur and a lot of moves in ToB remember it. And this is very cool - simply, does not fit always in every setting.

Not about the fluff - I changed it for a friend of mine. With, say, Most moves of Iron Hearth is very simple - Adamantine Hurricane is a better Whirlwind Attack whit less annoying prereqs (barring special attacks).

Anyway, note pag 6 of ToB, behind the curtain: blending genres. SC is cited.

Not to be inflaming, anyway - if I seemed to you harshly, excuse me.

[Geddoe]

No real worries.:smallcool:

Know what else is SC? Improved trip. You sweep them, then hit them while they are down. That is exactly like Mitsurugi's side and back throws, one where he sweeps and stabs in the spine, and another where he kicks in the back of the knee and slashes at the neck while you are on your back. And just like in Soul Calibur, most real opponents will survive the attack. Also referenced in the sidebars? Kill Bill, Final Fantasy, and Hong Kong martial arts movies(aka wuxia).

The Tome of Battle is generic enough that it can be Wuxia, a fill in for SC, low power anime or Sigurd and other western myths. It can be a Kurosawa film(at low levels) or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Your White Raven warblade can be Alexander the Great or Liu Bei, Date Masamune in his North Campaign or Achilles leading the myrmidons. A diamond mind master can be from the Company of Masters in a European setting or iaijutsu samurai in a more Oriental Setting.

And as I said The Rose Dragon: I had misread the OP, and though it was a more generic OA setting, which ToB is perfect for.

[Umael]

Though to be fair, I did misread the op, and thought it was a more generic OA setting, rather than Rokugan itself. Hence the ToB comment,

Fair enough.



As to, my ridiculous comment, Rokugan has:

Over the top honor concerns(to the point that in one post I read on the aeg site, they discussed the dishonor of using leather for saddles or minor ties in armor).
All their daimyo(particularly clan daimyo) seem able and willing to lead the army from the front. Seriously, it is like Dynasty Warriors or something, except when their is a sudden need for drama in which case anybody can die.

Ah. Culture shock. Followed closely by elitism (them, not you).

Well, as far as whether or not you should use pay attention to the details, that depends on how fanatically you want to adhere to the setting. As I mentioned, in the Legend of the Burning Sands, it gives another perspective that shows how out-of-touch Rokugan is.

Let me give three different viewpoints to illustrate:

Regular D&D - very materialistic, backed by the fact that if you do die, there is an afterlife, but there is also ways to come back from the afterlife, either because you were ressurrected, or raised as a free-will undead, or summoned from one of the celestial (or infernal) planes. As alluded in Order of the Stick, alignment matters, but really, power matters more.

Rokugan - A cycle of reincarnation, in which your station in your next life is determined by how well you performed your actions in your past life. Doing things the same way, year after year, to the point where you adhere to seemly assine traditions or avoid likewise taboos, refuse to better your lot, or even save your own skin - that seems ridiculous. And the Nezumi and most gaijin agree. But for the Rokugan, life is secondary to honor, for honor is everything.

Real life (mostly) - Without getting into religion*, people who believe that our actions will lead to an afterlife will avoid actions that might have an immediate benefit because of a possible long-term consequence. Life is important, but material things are nice and tempting, especially since picking the "morally correct" choice for an afterlife, or picking life, can lead to frustration over not getting the material things. A lot of people want the good life now and then.

(* - substitute tradition or culture or society or even altruistic beliefs, if you want. It's the whole "would you steal a loaf of bread if your family was hungry" ethical dilemma.)

Or to sum it up another way, D&D has a very strong Id and Ego. "It's about me. It's about my climb to the top", while Rokugan has a very strong Superego. "It's about my position in society. I am just a brick, but without me, there is a hole in the wall and it is lacking in support."

Please note that this is not a universal truth, but more of my opinion identifying an undercurrent of philosophy behind the difference. There are plenty of D&D games and settings that value the importance of society over the individual, that benefit from soldarity over ambition, and that emphasis beneficial co-dependence over self-sufficent independence. You can also get plenty of the latter when playing a Rokugan game.

When you have such a radical difference in values, a complex system of alternative morals and beliefs comes about. Touching the dead is unclean, something only the eta would do. Leather is made from the skin of the dead, so you should not ride a horse with a leather saddle, you should not use leather straps to tie the links of your armor together. On the other hand, you get people (or in the case of the Unicorn and the Crab, entire Clans) who are pragmatic enough to say, "Look, which is more important, making sure my armor is properly attached so that I can actually, I don't know, do my DUTY to the Empire and kill the Shadowland monsters, or avoiding touching a dead animal's skin so that I can die a pathetic, but clean death?"

The thing with war and leading the troops is that, well, the samurai bushi consider their lives already lost. They are one meter (the length of their katana) from death at all times. The trouble is that samurai warfare tend to take this to the extreme and bushi have been known to die "pointless" deaths because honor demands it.*

* These "pointless" deaths can have some interesting stories develop out of them or because of them. "No, you go on ahead, I'll hold the bridge against the bandits. The village must be warned!" There are also lots of stories of daimyo ordering their bushi to death, not just by seppuku, but also by ordering them to intentionally throw a lethal duel. Also, if you are the first kind of gaming group, forbidden romance makes for a great story, where death is a very valid option.

If these kinds of attitudes bother you, I suggest the following:
* Don't play Rokugan. Simpliest option. If you don't like the setting, don't use it.
* Don't play with a GM who is going to be strict about these kinds of things. For some players, arguing about whether or not a samurai loses honor from riding a horse with a leather saddle is just part of the game that makes it so entertaining. For others, it isn't.
* Don't play Crane, Lion, Phoenix, or any member of the Imperial Family. In fact, look heavily into playing a Unicorn, a Crab, or even a Nezumi (if the GM allows it). The Unicorn are half-gaijin, so they don't see what the fuss is over a few leather saddles (or eating red meat or a few other cultural taboos), and because they are half-gaijin, a lot of their... oddities... are overlooked. The Crab are eternally at war with the Shadowlands and have no time or patience for a lot of the social games that the other Clans play. The Nezumi are... well... the Nezumi.

[Geddoe]

My first interest in Rokugan was after reading the inaccurate(According to canon) Clan War novels and shortly thereafter picking up Oriental Adventures. I liked characters such as Shoju, Aramoro, Kachiko, Hoturi, Toturi, Toshimoko and others. Of course as clan champions, for the most part they did not have to worry about being "uppity" most of the time because they were the big movers and shakers. I thought it would be cool to play characters like them, but you generally don't get to play people who are basically clan champions.

Would I ever want to play a full campaign in actual Rokugan(any system)? Probably not. I would be willing to play a short 3-6 session arc, but I would prefer something a little closer to the medieval Japan with a fantasy twist, as opposed to Rokugan, from a fluff perspective.

And the go on ahead while I hold the bandits at the bridge thing, doesn't need to. It is as at home in Rokugan as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, or Greyhawk. It is as heroic in any setting.

[Kaiyanwang]

* Don't play Crane, Lion, Phoenix, or any member of the Imperial Family. In fact, look heavily into playing a Unicorn, a Crab, or even a Nezumi (if the GM allows it). The Unicorn are half-gaijin, so they don't see what the fuss is over a few leather saddles (or eating red meat or a few other cultural taboos), and because they are half-gaijin, a lot of their... oddities... are overlooked. The Crab are eternally at war with the Shadowlands and have no time or patience for a lot of the social games that the other Clans play. The Nezumi are... well... the Nezumi.

And.. Mantis? (I think that you didn't wrote about Scorpions intentionally :smallwink:)

[elliott20]

I've always had some mixed feelings about the Rokugan setting myself, mostly because I just felt that a lot of the writing surrounding the Rokugan setting just seems very goofy and often seems to try so hard to further exoticize the source material it drew from. so, while full of flavor and actually very interesting, it also just feels a little... too much at times.

[Umael]

And.. Mantis? (I think that you didn't wrote about Scorpions intentionally :smallwink:)

Well, but I don't know the Mantis as well as I should, so I kinda omitted them. They work well, as long as you understand that the Moshi are a matriarchy, like the Otaku/Utaku and the Matsu. Actually, the Moshi women kinda look down on Moshi men, but that's another issue.

And yes, I did omit the Scorpions intentionally. I love the Clan, but new players trying out the Scorpion Clan without really getting what it is about tend to be the bully enforcer types or they try for "I'm-so-cool-because-I'm-ninja!" types. Which, if your group is okay with it, works, but the Scorpion Clan is so much more than being jerks and freaks in black pajamas.

(Favorite Clans: Crab, Dragon, Scorpion. Crane is okay, if you don't mind being the pretty boy (or girl). Lion are great warriors, but they are complete and utter jerks. Can't stand the pacifist Phoenix... just... no. Unicorn are okay, just not so much for me. The Spider Clan should not exist.)